Spider



May 5, 1931. H. W. GOETZ vb21-Al.

' SPIDER Filed March 26, 1928 2 sheets-sheer 1 E IH., W. /f N l WWUEMNW ,i u. von /H l|||l Muir Hl M HK \mmw.lih ,u i HM May 5, 1931. H. w. GoETz ET Al. 1,803,603

SPIDER Filed March 26. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1N VEN TORS #595597' /4/ 60572 A TTORNE Y.

Patented May 5, 19311 I i.

UNITED'STATES PATENT-OFFICE HERBERT (ErOE'lZ,k OF ALHAMBRA, RALPH C. CLARK, OF LOS ANGELES, AND JOHN J'.

L FERLIN, OEHUNTINGTON PARK, CALIFORNIA i SPIDER Applicationinea Mai-ch 26, 1928. serial No. 264,691.

This invention relates to a spider adapted an extremely sturdy construction adapted to for use at the derrick floor of a well for temsafely support the weight of any length of porarily holding any type ofpiping such piping. Y as casing, tubing, drill p-ipe, sucker rods, etc., It is a.v still further object of the invenwhich it is desired to insert or withdraw tion to arrange the gripping jaws for move- 50 from the well. y ment to clamping position lon well piping It is an object of the invention to provide without employing the usual wedging seata spider having aplui'ality of jaws for griping action such as tends to cause the jaws ping the well piping, with tlie jaws so arto stick in their operativeposition, with the l0 ranged as to provide a completely enclosed arcuate swinging movement for the jaws as 55 gripping annulus in order to equalize the .providedV for in the present invention ingripping action and thereby prevent distorsuring ready release or clamping engagement tion of the piping and insure a reliable and on the' well piping and the counterbalanced positive supporting engagement. Construction adapting the jaws for release It is a further objectv of the invention to or engagement by the exertion of minimum 30` provide a gripping action comprising atV effort. j 1 least athree-point engagement, with the plu- 'The foregoing and further objects of the rality of gripping means depen'dently'actuinvention will be readily understood from ated so as to insure equalized gripping presthe following description of the accompanysure against the piping from all directions. ing drawings, in which: j 65 It is a still further object of the invention f Fig. l is a plan view of the invention with to arcuately shift the gripping means to opthe ljaws in operative position, and showing erativel or inoperativeV position, with said the closure plate for the spider partly in arcuate movement so counterbalanced that horizontal section.

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the weight of the gripping means will im- Fig. 2 is a similar front elevation oi' the 70 'mediately tend to accelerate their swing as invention. i i i soon as shifting to either 'operative or inopv Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections on erative position is initiated. the lines 3-3 and 4 4 of Fig-1 respectively.

It is astill further object of the invention Fig. 5 is a. detail vertical section through to arrange the gripping jaws so that they one of the jaws and its operating connection, 75

will swing of their own weight to a position showing the jaw in inoperative position in initiating engagement with the piping at full lines, and showing the position of the the upper ends of the jaws as the latter are jaw` as it approaches operative position in swung to operative position, with the jaws dotted lines.

adapted to then swingto parallel position In the drawings we vhave shown the inven- 80 as thea-renate movement to operative position adapted for mounting on a usual rotary Y tion is continued, so that the jaws will finally table so as to grip rotary drill pipe, although grip the piping throughout the length of the it will be readily apparentV that the spider jaws for producing uniform gripp'ingpresmay be adapted for mounting on any suitable 40 sure. i j support, as for example a well casing, and its 85 It is a still further object of the invention jaws may be so constructed as to define an to mount the gripping jaws for swinging annulus for ,gripping any type of piping,

movement so that they are adequately supas is usual in well tubing for example.

ported without shearing action such as would In theembodiment of the invention illustend to cause breakage, and tothus provide trailed, thebase of the spider is ShOWnf-t l 90 (ill adapted for detachable mounting on a usual rotary table 2 by means of depending lugs 3 which are adapted for reception in the usual diainetrically opposite boxes 4 provided in the rotary table; and the base 1 is provided with a. central opening 5 through which the string of drill pipe is adapted to extend, with one side of the base preferably having an opening therethrough to the central opening as shown at 6, and through which the string` of drill pipe is adapted to pass to permit the spider being mounted in operative position. The spider provides at least a three point gripping engagement and for this purpose is provided in the present embodimentwith three aws and their corresponding operating connections. The operating connections each include a shaft 1() j ournaled on base 1 in upstanding bearing-` lugs 11, and the shafts of the three operating connections de ine a triangle surroundingl the central opening 5 with adjacent ends of two of the shafts spaced apart the width of opening 6 as shown in Fi 1, so as not to obstruct the free mounting of the siliider on a string of drill pipe.

Each shaft is preferably jourualeifl in two of the bearing` lugs 11, which are axially spaced at either side of the medial portions of the shafts, and the upper surface of base 1 is preferably recessed beneath the medial portion of each shaft as shown at 12 to permit free swingingl movement of the operating connections which are fixed on the medial portions of the shafts. T he upper surface of base 1 is also preferably recessed beneath each shaft end projecting beyond its bearing lug as shown at 13, except at the. shaft ends which are transversely spaced by opening (i, and these latter shaft ends the bearing lugs 11 preferably form axially projecting bearing` collars 14 for the shaft ends with said collars adapted to detachal'ily support a closure plate 15 for the opening 6. The closure plate has bores 17 opening therethrough perpendicularly to the faces of the closure plate and adapted to receive the collars 1li which may have their peripheries cnt away angular-ly to the axes of the collars shown at 14 in order that the collars may be readily received in the bores 17. vertically insertable locking pins 19 are adapted for reception in cooperating` bores 19 which extend transversely to the axes of collars 14 and are formed partly in the peripheries of said collars and partly in the peripheral walls of bores 17 as shown at the right of Fig, 1, so that withdrawal of the locking pins permits removal of plate 15, while insertion of the locking pins wilt lock the closure plate in place. Upstanding angular bracing ribs 1?a may be formed integral with base 1 and the proximate bearing lues 11 for adjacent shaft ends 10, except at the shaft ends which are spaced by opening G, and V a sturdy and rigid construction is thus formed, which when closure plate 15 is removed may be readily laterally shifted onto a string of drill pipe by the latter passing through opening 6, and which when in operative position with closure plate 15 mounted on collars 14 and locked against disengagement by the pins 19, provides a completely enclosed annular structure surrounding the string of drill pipe wl 'ch extends through the central opening 5.

The operating connections tired on the medial portions of shafts 10 carry cooperating gripping aws which when swung to operative position define a closed annular gripping.;` means concentric with central opening 5 and adapted to engage the string of drill pipe eX- tending therethrough, and when moved to inoperative position the gripping jaws disengage the string of drill pipe and are swung back to substantially horizontal position overlying the shafts 10 so that the string of drill pipe may be withdrawn from the well without obstruction by the jaws. The jaws with their operating connections are interchangeable units mounted on shafts 10, and a description of one of said units will therefore suiiice.

Each unit preferably comprises a pair of arms 2O projecting from a collar 22 which is ixed on shaft 10 as shown at 23, with a jaw 21 journaled on bearing surfaces at the extremities 24 of the pair of arms. As an instance of this arrangement the jaw is shown as an elongated arcuate structure with its concave sari-ace transversey serrated as shown at so to provide a gripping engagement with drill pipe, and the convex surface of the jaw has a lug 31 projecting therefrom intermediate of its ends but preferably closer to its upper end, with said lug adapted for rcception between the pair of arms 20. Concave bearing lugs 32 which project from the convex surface of the jaw structure at each side and above lug 31 are adapted to ride on the bearing surfaces 25of the pair of arms and the jaw is held against displacement by a pin 33 extending through the arm ends 24 and the lug 31, but the weight of the jaw is not carried by this pin but is borne by the cooperating` bearing surfaces 25-82, in order to eliminate shearing action at the pin 33.

In the present embodiment of the invention in which three gripping aws 21 are cmployed, they each emb ace an arc of substantially 12()o in order that they may cooperate to define a closed gripping annulus surrounding the drill pipe which is to be held thereby, and by the mounting for the jaws as has been described it will be seen that by dependently rotating shafts 10 the jaws are adapted for dependent movement to operative position as shown in Fig. 8, or inoperative position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. Swinging movement to inoperative position may be limited as hereinafter described, and when in inoperative position the backs of the aws preferably lll) gears 40 may be fixed on the ends of adjacent shafts except at the shaft ends which are spaced by opening 6, the said bevel gears being adapted for unobstructed rotation as a result of the recessing of base 1 beneath the same as shown at 13, and rotation of the gear being suitably stopped when jaws 21 are in inoperative position, as for example by distorting the threads of the meshing gears as shown at 35.

Segments of the gears are preferably cutaway as shown at 41 in order to form unbalanced structures having their centers of gravity in vertical alinement and below the axes of the gears when the shafts are so turned as to operatively position the jaws 2lY as shown in Fig. 2, and the rear surfaces of the gears are preferably provided with segmental counterweights 42 which when the aws 21 are in operative position have their centers of gravity below shafts 10 and at substantially diametrically opposite the arms 2O which project from the respective shafts. The jaws and their operating arms are preferably further counterweighted by arcuate Vcounterweiglits 43 which are fixed on pins 26 projecting from collars 22 atsuch obtuse angles to the arms 2O that when the parts are disposed with jaws 21 in operative position as shown in Fig. 3, the pins 26 arev substantially horizontal and the pairs of arms areslightly inclined upwardly toward their swinging ends; yand theV counterweights 43 are adapted for unobstructed swinging movement with shafts 1() as a result of the recesses 12 provided in base 1.

Means are n'ovided for manuall rotating Y? any one of the shafts 10 and thereby dependently turning all of the shaft-sas a result of their bevel. gear driving connections, and for this purpose lugs 45 may project from the rear surfaces of gears 40 and areprovided with bores 46, any oneof which is adapted to receive asuitable hand lever (not shown). The bores 46 are preferably angularly disposed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so that the hand lever projecting from any one of said bores will be positioned for convenient manual engagement to rock the shafts 10 so -as to swing aws 21 from inoperative to operative position.

In operation the spider with its jaws swung back to inoperative positionis lifted onto rotary table 2 by any suitable elevating mechanism mounted in the well derriclr and'adapted to engage suitable eyes 50 which may project upwardly from base 1 in alinement `with lugs 3, and the closure plate 15 having been removed the spider may. be shifted laterally onto a string of drill pipe by the latter passing through openings 6, and the spider is then fixed on the rotary table by lugs 3 received in bores 4, so that the string of drill pipe extends through the central opening 5, with the spider completely surrounding the drill pipe when closure plate 15 is replaced on collars 14 and locked by pins 19. Y

V] hen it is desired to support the string of drill pipe by the spider in order that a length of the Vpipe which has been withdi awn from the well may be disconnected, a hand lever is inserted in one of the bores 46 and is manually shifted so as to rock the shafts 10 from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. It will be noted that immediately at the start and throughout said rocking movement of shafts l0 the jaws 21 and their operating arms 20 are nicely counterbalanced by the counterweights 42 and 43 so that the jaws may be shifted to operative position with minimum effort; and when the arms 2O assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 the upper ends rof jaws 2l tilt forwardly for initial engagement with the drill pipe, as a result of the relative position of the pivotal axes vofthe jaws at pins and the center of gravity of the jaws below said pivotal axes. Y

7With the jaws in this position the downward swingino' movement of arms 20 is continued so that the jaws rock to parallel relation as shown in Fig. 3, thereby uniformly gripping the drill pipe throughout the length of their serrated surfaces 30 without the possibility of excessive gripping pressur'e when the jaws first engage the pipe, and when the weight of the string of pipe is placed upon the aws the rocking movement of arms 2O is thereby continued until arrested by the jaws 21 tightly gripping the pipe." rihe parts are then in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position it will be noted that `subsequent ele` vation ofthe string of drill pipe will initiate rocking movement of arms 20 inthe reverse direction to release the aws, and that counterweights 42-43 are then so positioned as to immediately counterbalance the jaws and their arms so that they will be swung all the way back to inoperative position by simply the impetus imparted thereto by the initial elevation ofthe string of drill pipe. l/Ve have thus provided a spider construction whereby gripping jaws may be swung to operative position with minimum effort and will be automatically returned to inoperative position when the string of pipewhich is gripped thereby is subsequently elevated, the

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construction insuring uniform gripping action and dependent operation of the respective jaws with thev gripping pressure applied uni- 

